by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
March 31, 2025
Funding of Washington’s public schools is one of the tougher wrinkles House and Senate budget writers must iron out in the weeks ahead.
Democrat-drafted proposals in the two chambers are demonstrably different in how much is spent on special education, what grant programs are cut and when state funds are distributed to school districts.
And it’s unclear what Democrats will do if new taxes they are counting on for billions of dollars for education are not approved.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal noted this week that the share of the operating budget going to public schools would be about the same in the Senate plan, while in the House proposal it would continue to shrink.
“We’re trying to figure out how much of each budget relies on the revenue,” he added.
The current budget, which runs through June 30, spends roughly $31.2 billion of the general fund — the cache of state tax dollars used to fund day-to-day operations — on public schools. That works out to roughly 43%, down from the high-water mark of over 50% in 2019.
The Senate is proposing a two-year $78.5 billion budget, of which $34.3 billion of the general fund – 43.7% – would go to public schools. The House drew up a $77.8 billion plan, of which $33.2 billion, or 43%, is penciled in for education.
The Senate approved its operating budget on Saturday with only Democratic support. The House is expected to vote on its package Monday. Once passed, authors will begin negotiating to reconcile differences as they work to get a deal ahead of April 27, the last scheduled day of the session.
Tackling the cost drivers
In dollars and cents, the single largest difference between the two budgets is funding of special education in the state’s 295 public school districts.
The Senate plan contains a $1 billion increase in the next biennium compared to $188.9 million in the House.
The state distributes an amount of money for each student enrolled in a school, plus additional dollars for each special education student under a formula known as the multiplier.
What is in the Senate budget intends to cover the cost of lifting a cap on state funding for special education programs, covering these services for those up to age 22, and increasing the multiplier to drive more dollars to districts. Most of the House dollars cover expenses from a higher multiplier.
Another financial challenge for school districts is the surge in prices for materials, supplies and general operating costs, including insurance premiums, natural gas rates and utility charges. Reykdal had pushed for $350 million more in the next budget.
The Senate wrote in an additional $175 million for the coming two years; the House has no increased funding.
But the House wants to increase Local Effort Assistance funding by $200 a student in 2026 and $300 a student in 2027. That adds up to an added $217 million for property-poor districts, funding they can use for programs and activities not funded by the state.
There is a catch. Those additional dollars are tied to a proposed House bill to raise the cap on annual property tax collections. The legislation has yet to be voted on.
The Senate made no changes in the Local Effort Assistance funding formula.
Need to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
Big cuts
One of the single largest reductions in each budget concerns nearly three-dozen academic enrichment and technical education programs paid for with grants.
The House logs $138 million in savings by eliminating funding for all but one dealing with financial education. In the Senate proposal, $48.9 million is trimmed, ensuring partial or full funding of many of the undertakings.
Affected programs range from instruction in aerospace and advanced manufacturing to civics education and science and technology fields, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Both budgets count on saving roughly $75 million by funding enrollment in the Transition to Kindergarten program at its current level and not paying for expanded enrollment as planned. The program, created two years ago, provides children under 5 years old with additional help in preparing for kindergarten. It’s been popular and enrollment has been projected to grow.
And each budget is targeting the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for cuts.
The Senate wants Reykdal to shave $4.3 million in administrative costs, plus another $3 million collectively from an array of statewide programs. These include preventing youth suicide and bullying and improving students’ math skills and reading literacy. The agency needs to cut $1.8 million in administrative expenses in the House budget, but the statewide programs are unscathed.
Making the numbers work
State funds are paid out monthly to school districts through what’s known as apportionment. Both chambers employ a similar gimmick with this process to reduce spending in the next budget and balance out their ledgers.
The House adjusts the percentage of monthly payouts to be lower in the months before July, when new fiscal years begin, and higher in August. By doing so, Democrats shift $396.7 million of spending out of the 2025-27 budget cycle and into the next one. The Senate moves $386.2 million of apportionment spending into the next budget.
“It’s a math game,” Reykdal said, adding there would likely be a reserve established in case a district ran into an urgent cash flow problem.
No debate here
There’s money in both budgets to bump up what the state provides districts for teachers, administrators and staff.
For a certificated instructor, the minimum allocation statewide will rise from $78,209 to $80,164 in the next fiscal year and $82,248 in the second year of the biennium. It will be $59,000 for staff and $122,000 for administrators in the biennium. Most districts use locally generated tax dollars to pay teachers, office workers, principals and superintendents above those levels.
And both budgets fully fund bonuses for teachers who earn certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Former Gov. Jay Inslee proposed pausing the bonuses entirely to save $151 million in the next budget and Gov. Bob Ferguson has endorsed the idea, too.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.